Around 4,000 passengers and 30 flights were affected during the night of October 21-22 at Vilnius Airport due to a temporary closure of airspace, a consequence of meteorological balloons that were detected heading towards the airport, Lithuanian Aiports said on its website on October 22.

Fourteen inbound flights were reportedly diverted to other airports – 10 to Kaunas, two to Riga, and one each to Palanga and Warsaw. Ten flights were cancelled, one aircraft returned to its departure airport, and five departures from Vilnius were delayed.

“During the period when Vilnius Airport operations were temporarily suspended, more than 4,000 passengers and about 30 flights were affected,” Vitalija Roce, a spokeswoman for Lithuanian Airports (LTOU), told LRT Radio.

Lithuanian officials have previously accused Belarus of sending such balloons across the border to transport contraband goods or disrupt air traffic near Vilnius.

The balloons were found in five municipalities: Lazdijai, Druskininkai, Varena, Salcininkai, and Vilnius, local reports said.

The search for the balloons continues. So far, five have been located, one person has been detained, and about 7,000 packs of contraband cigarettes have been recovered, they added.

Lithuania may close its border with Belarus for an extended period, President Gitanas Nauseda’s chief national security adviser Deividas Matulionis said on the morning of October 22, BNS and LRT.lt said.

As reported by bne IntelliNews, as part of hybrid warfare, more than 4,200 undocumented migrants entered Lithuania in 2020-2021, following the crackdown in Belarus on the opposition.